The trio will be together for a few more years at least. On Tuesday, the Steelers signed Gilbert to a new six-year contract — believed to be worth $30 million — that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2019.

In June, the Steelers signed Pouncey to a similar deal, worth a reported $44 million, making him the highest paid center in the league. DeCastro can become a free agent in 2016. LB Jason Worilds and CB Cortez Allen are the remaining most notable pending free agents.

•At some point Thursday, the Steelers will turn the ball over to Landry Jones. The third-string QB struggled mightily against Buffalo, leading some to believe the Steelers may only carry two QBs on the 53-man roster. "He didn't have a good performance in the last outing, that's evident," coach Mike Tomlin said. "I'm looking for a rebound week from him." Jones has completed 13 of 26 passes for 127 yards (40 of them on one pass) with one pick and three sacks in the preseason.

•OT Mike Adams has been one of the bigger surprises in the preseason. Yes, that Mike Adams, the one who was a second-round pick in 2012 and lost the starting left tackle job last season. Adams, working on the second team, has posted solid back-to-back preseason games and has increased his stock from a bubble player to solid depth. Adams credits new offensive line coach Mike Munchak for his resurrection. "Just kind an overall understanding we have as an O-line this year," Adams said. "Coach Munch has done a great job teaching us technique-wise, assignment-wise. Just working and trying to correct a lot of the mistakes that I've been making."

•Thanks to his football-playing father, Brad Wing grew up in Australia learning how to punt in the American game. Since coming over to the U.S., first at LSU and now as a pro, Wing has the added responsibility of holding kicks. "It's something I didn't grow up doing but it's something I'm continuing to work on," Wing said. "I've got a new kicker in Shaun (Suisham), it's just figuring out what he likes, how he likes the ball. It's definitely a work in progress but we're getting some good work at it." Wing throws a decent enough ball but don't look for too many fakes from the right-handed throwing, left-footed punter.

•Up-tempo, no-huddle all the time, Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly brings a lot of innovation to his offense. But when the ball is snapped, it's still just football, according to his cross-state counterpart. "They're a good, sound, offensive football team and I think they probably like some of the talk about some of the window dressing," Tomlin said. "But when you really get down it they're a good, sound, fundamental group. I think the same can be said for Coach Kelly."

•Two players who might otherwise be looking for another team or a new line of work could receive some good news. The NFL is expected to increase the number of players on the practice squad from eight to 10 as early as next week. "If they expand it to 20, I'll take that," said Tomlin. Among the Steelers' practice squad eligible players are C/G Chris Elkins (Beaver Falls) and WR Derek Moye (Rochester).

•Tomlin called the Steelers' upcoming game as the "witching hour" for players on the roster bubble. The greatest logjam exists at safety and inside linebacker where tough decisions will have to be made. S Robert Golden, a special teams standout the last two seasons, is one of those players. "As far as roster cuts and everything like, that, we have no control over that," said Golden. "We just go out there and do what do and execute."

•As expected, Tomlin confirmed that his starters will see extensive playing time against the Eagles. Tomlin wouldn't say how much but "you can assume that it's more than they've played in the previous games. It's just a natural part of the process."

With it being a Thursday game, the Steelers will be working on a shortened work week.

INJURY UPDATE

•Six players have been ruled out for Thursday night's game at Philadelphia:

236: Average ticket price in dollars for a Steelers home game on the secondary market, according to Vivid Seats. The Steelers rank 16th. Chicago is the most expensive ($428) while Buffalo is the cheapest ($123)

11/10: Odds that the Steelers qualify for the playoffs, per Bovada

5/7: Odds that the Steelers don't qualify for the playoffs this season

QUOTEWORTHY

"I wouldn't read too much into it, to be honest with you. I don't get too much into preseason depth charts. I just fill them out because Burt asked me to."

Veteran defensive end Brett Keisel will indeed return to the Steelers later this week for a 12th season in Pittsburgh.

The news comes after Keisel, an unsigned free agent, declined a visit with Arizona earlier Tuesday. A fan favorite for his run-stopping ability as well as his long, unruly beard, Keisel confirmed his return by tweeting "There's no place like home" and "I am very excited to finish what I started in 2002 with the @steelers. Time to get to work!!"

In 12 games last season, Keisel had four sacks to go along with 20 tackles. It's not entirely clear where the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Keisel fits on the current defensive line though GM Kevin Colbert said during training camp that the Steelers hadn't completely shut the door on Keisel's return.

Free agent Cam Thomas and rookie Stephon Tuitt were brought in, ostensibly, to replace Keisel, who has 29 sacks and 246 tackles in 144 career games, all with Pittsburgh. Training camp rookie standouts Daniel McCullers and Josh Mauro are also in the mix for roster spots at end.